The botulinum toxin type D disulfide-bonded heavy chain - light chain heterodimer ("dichain") (botD HC:LC, encoded by the C. botulinum botD gene) binds ganglioside GD2 and synaptic vesicle proteins 2A (SV2A), 2B (SV2B), or 2C (SV2C) on the plasma membrane of a human target cell. In vivo, this process specifically targets synapses at neuromuscular junctions, where toxin association with ganglioside may position it to bind efficiently to SV2A, SV2B, or SV2C when those proteins are exposed at the cell surface by exocytosis (Kroken et al. 2011; Peng et al. 2011).
Peng, L, Tepp, WH, Johnson, EA, Dong, M
Kroken, AR, Karalewitz, AP, Fu, Z, Kim, JJ, Barbieri, JT
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